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How to Make the NHL All Star Game Better

By Dean Plunkett |
Jan 25, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Team Toews center Jonathan Toews (19) of the Chicago Blackhawks takes a face off against Team Foligno center Zemgus Girgensons (28) of the Buffalo Sabres in the third period in the 2015 NHL All Star Game at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Team Toews center Jonathan Toews (19) of the Chicago Blackhawks takes a face off against Team Foligno center Zemgus Girgensons (28) of the Buffalo Sabres in the third period in the 2015 NHL All Star Game at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL All-Star Game is not as good as it could be, but there are ways to make it better.

A radical idea about how to reform the NHL All Star Game is going to be thrown out here, and it may just give Commissioner Gary Bettman nightmares (not an unwanted result for some readers).

Here it is. Ready?

To make the NHL All Star Game better for everyone, including the fans, the players and the teams all you need to do is NOT PLAY THE GAME.

Simple, huh?

Since it’s inception in 1947, the NHL has tried dozens of different formats for the annual NHL All Star Game, including three changes since 1998. The league keeps trying to find a new way to keep fans interested in the game. It’s not working.

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Metropolitan Division loses but Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby put on show in NHL All Star Game
Metropolitan Division loses but Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby put on show in NHL All Star Game /

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    • In 1998, to promote the first Winter Olympics that included NHL players, they tried the “North America vs The World” format. Of course in the NHL at that time ‘North American’ meant ‘75% Canadian’.

    In 2003 the NHL went back to the old school East vs West format. That year’s game ended in a shootout, which of course led the NHL to institute the OT shootout system a little later. (ALL purist hockey fans love that spectacle, don’t we?)

    Then we come to the 2011 game held right here in beautiful Raleigh, North Carolina, home to the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. The league decided to implement what I like to call the “Schoolyard Dodgeball, You’re Gonna Be Picked Last” team format.

    “Remember, dodgeball is a sport of violence, exclusion and degradation. So, when you’re picking players in gym class, remember to pick the bigger, stronger kids for your team. That way you can gang up on the weaker ones, like Winston here.”
    “Remember, dodgeball is a sport of violence, exclusion and degradation. So, when you’re picking players in gym class, remember to pick the bigger, stronger kids for your team. That way you can gang up on the weaker ones, like Winston here.” /

    Commish Bettman thought it would be cool to have a “Fantasy Draft” for choosing the teams. All it did was waste hours of everyone’s time, and made you feel really bad for the last 5 or 6 players still waiting backstage to be picked. Bet Phil Kessel still has nightmares about the weekend in Raleigh?

    Now we jump ahead to this year’s new team and game format. It breaks down to this. One captain is picked from each division by fan vote (enough there for another story, right John Scott?). The  players will play for their division captain in…wait for it…a 3 on 3, 20-minute game, two-round, knockout tournament.

    Can we get any goofier just to keep people’s attention?

    Let’s be honest here. As fans of the sport and the teams, we all love seeing who’s chosen as an all star and debating those decisions with everyone. We all like seeing the rookies and young stars get chosen for their early career successes. We all like watching the skills competition, even when Alexander Ovechkin gets a bit whacky. And we all like watching the retired all stars come back and show us they still got some skills…especially old guys like me.

    There are two things we don’t like about the All Star Game.

    First is the fans’ fear, as unlikely as it might be, that the star player on their playoff chasing team catches a rut in the ice or falls awkwardly into the boards, and is out for any period of time. That would suck.

    Carolina Hurricanes
    Carolina Hurricanes /

    Carolina Hurricanes

    The second thing is the simple fact that the game itself, in whatever permutation Commish Bettman would like to try, is BORING. It’s just boring. Back and forth. No real hockey being played. It’s basically the skills competition with a time clock.

    Here are my suggestions for the next All Star ‘Game’:

    Player selection: Since we aren’t playing an actual game we can celebrate more than just 42 players. Have  1st Team All Stars, 2nd Team All Stars and a Young Team All Stars. You can get rid of the really stupid “one player from every team” rule, and you’ll be able to celebrate more players who deserve recognition.

    Skills Competition: Set this up however you want. Let each All Star team choose their on Captain amongst themselves. Have 1st Stars vs 2nd Stars vs Young Stars. Have East vs West with a mix of all the selections on each team. Throw everyone’s stick in the middle of the ice and let a local kid make the teams randomly. This part is supposed to be fun, so have fun with it.

    Alumnae Game: This may just be me longing for the days of watching my dad and his buddies get together on a Saturday morning to play some shinny (that’s a pick up game for you millennials) but I like watching the ‘Old Guys’ out there. And I think they like getting back in front of hockey fans. Gotta keep this game.

    Host City/NHL experience: Except for the absence of a 60 minute “hockey game” at the end of the weekend, nothing will change for the fans, the city or the NHL. The convention center will still be filled with people getting their pictures with the Stanley Cup. Players will still be signing autographs. The media will still be there to cover all the events. Kids will still be trying to take a slap shot for the first time while their parents are buying All Star Weekend memorabilia. And most importantly for the NHL, the teams and the host city, the same sponsors will be there to promote their products and provide the same revenue.

    Next: Interview with Canes Defenseman James Wisniewski

    See. The only thing that would be missing from the 2017 All Star Game is the game.

    Now where is that NHL Headquarters Suggestion Box?

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